


I'm Setting Off, But Not Without my Muse

by bigbidumbass



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29546553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigbidumbass/pseuds/bigbidumbass
Summary: Star Wars Soulmate Month 2021: Day 18, "You hate what your soulmate loves."Din didn’t like the Jedi, but he liked Luke.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 18
Kudos: 182
Collections: Star Wars Soulmate Month 2021





	I'm Setting Off, But Not Without my Muse

Din didn’t like the Jedi, but he liked Luke. Of all the tales Din had been told about the history of the Mandalorian and the Jedi, the words of ancient enemies, Luke was nothing like what he’d heard of them. In fact, Luke didn’t seem to be like anyone Din had ever met. He was kind, loyal, intelligent.Din hadn’t expected the way Luke had proudly smiled at him when Grogu had mastered a skill of the Force. Din hadn't expected Luke to be gentle, endearing. Luke was no warrior—he was so much more than that. 

Luke didn’t seem to hate anything, really. He did seem to have a dislike for certain things—he’d wrinkled his nose and moved away when Din had pulled out a strip of dried galcot, despite Din’s fondness for it. 

In fact, there seemed to be quite a few differences between them. Luke had family; Leia and Han, the newly born Ben. These were all some of the names that Din identified as they visited, all closely bonded. They never seemed to know what to do with Din. Even the baby cried when he came near, a reaction he wasn't used to from his time with Grogu.

Din had no family, not by blood, but he’d slowly built a group of people that he trusted with his life. Was there any other way to consider family than that? And Luke was family, at least to Grogu. Din tried not to be jealous when Grogu reached for Luke instead of him, when the Child copied the Jedi’s mannerisms. Din supposed that by association, Luke was his family too. Whoever was family to Grogu was family to Din, too.

Luke didn’t like Boba Fett. The unexpected tension of their meeting left a bad taste in Din’s mouth—the way Fett’s blaster had immediately aimed itself at Luke, the way Luke’s hand had immediately drifted to his lightsaber, waiting. _Just in case,_ Din recognized, but it still made him uneasy. And Din couldn't force himself to choose between them, not ever. He managed to talk them down, Luke more willing than Boba, but the fear of losing one of them, or maybe both—it haunted him that night. Eventually, when the silence around him got to be too much, threatened to drive him insane, he got out of bed and walked the halls. It helped, even to hear the echo of his footsteps against the floor. 

Din hated droids. Luke had two of them he seemed to always bring around, talking to him as if they were his friends. Grogu liked them too. Often he would coo at the astromech, and it would beep back at him, waddling on its legs as it did so. The other one was even worse. Most of the time, it seemed to be complaining about one thing or another. Luke only took those complaints with a good-natured laugh and some steady reassurances that all would be alright. 

Din didn’t have that patience, which perhaps was why Luke was training Grogu and not him. Din liked to watch the two of them training, Luke’s soft look of concentration that had become a tell of when was using the Force, the gentle voice he used to talk to Grogu. 

It was rare that Luke ever activated his lightsaber, but when he did, Din felt that same awe he’d felt when he’d seen Luke take on the dark troopers. That kind of power, he didn’t understand it. He could only entrust Luke to teach Grogu how to use it and hope they had enough time.

Luke liked Din. That was surprising the most, the way Luke laughed at Din’s remarks, the way Luke would stay in a room and talk to Din when the sun had long set, the way he gripped Din’s shoulder and gave him a nod. There was a message there, but Din couldn’t read it, not quite. It meant something Din was scared to know. Perhaps he was a coward.

Din liked Luke. Din _loved_ Luke. That much became clear to him, after the scare with Boba Fett, after their long nights of conversation, after seeing the way that Grogu loved Luke too. 

Din studied him—they way he threw his head back when he laughed, dimples painting their way into his smile. Luke, whose eyes seemed to change color in the light. Din couldn’t quite tell whether they were grey or blue—he was fascinated by them, though.

Din loved Luke, but he couldn’t say it. Luckily, he hadn’t needed to. The press of his helmet to Luke’s forehead had said enough, it seemed. The soft noise Luke made, the way his hands tugged at Din, pulling him closer, that had said it too. They sat like that for a moment, forehead to forehead. 

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” Din whispered, and Luke pulled away, brows furrowing in confusion. 

“What does that mean?” he asked softly, hands still gripping at Din’s armor.

“Ask me later,” Din replied, returning to the Keldabe kiss.

“Cyar’ika,” Luke murmured, “I know that one.” 

Din shuddered, resting his hand on the nape of Luke’s neck, holding him close. “I love you. That’s what it means,” he confessed, the words threatening to die down in his throat. He had to fight to say them.

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” Luke repeated, almost reverently. His hand brushed against the edge of Din’s helmet, not trying to remove it, just running across it in a moment of curiosity.

“Mando-” he started, but Din softly shook his head, gripping Luke’s hand and gently pulling it away. 

“Din,” he said, still holding Luke’s hand. “My name is Din Djarin.”

“Well, then, Din Djarin,” Luke said, a smile spreading across his face. “Grogu’s awake. We should probably go get him.”

“Alright,” Din said with a nod. “Before he gets into trouble.”

Luke laughed, giving Din’s hand a squeeze. “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum—I love you,” he told him. 

“Cuyir ner riduur,” Din responded. He knew that Luke wouldn’t understand it, even before the confusion hit Luke’s face. It hadn’t been his choice to say it, rather, a complete and utter compulsion that he hadn’t quite managed to suppress.

“What does that mean?” Luke asked, a hint of teasing bordering at the edge of his voice.

“Ask me later,” Din answered. 


End file.
